RFID tags, those little chips that are beginning to appear on merchandise to enable theft-prevention and supply-chain management, remain the least-well-known but probably most significant early indicator of the era of sentient things. By the time most people become aware that the objects they use and places they inhabit have been colonized by computation, information, media, and surveillance, the number of chips will be in the trillions. Microsoft has announced their support of RFID technology, announcing its intention to make its desktop, server, and appliations software work with RFID codes, as well as producing RFID-specific software.

(Thanks, Library Bob!)